City Council President explains councilmembers' responsibilities to Student Senate

City Council President Chris Knisely speaks to Student Senate. Photo by Emily Zeiler.

Chris Knisely, Athens City Council president, discussed the responsibilities of Athens City Council with Student Senate on Wednesday night.

These responsibilities include maintenance of roads, water and sanitary lines, as well as maintaining city proceedings, which include street shutdowns for city events.

City Council consists of four ward representatives, the president and three at-large representatives; the election for the three at-large seats will be held on Nov. 5, 2019, with a total of six candidates running. 

Knisely also expressed concerns about a slew of local businesses' closures in Athens and urged students to shop local whenever possible.

During the student speakout portion of the meeting, Noah Yonkers, an energy engineering senior at Ohio University, spoke out about missing skateboarding equipment on the basketball courts on South Green.

“It all got moved away at the beginning of this year, and we were told it was going to get put back after the courts were repaved,” Yonkers said. “But, after I talked to someone at the school, they said we were no longer allowed to keep our stuff there.” 

In other news:

• Student Senate will host a Minority Affairs Town Hall on Oct. 24, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in Baker 231.